Creative minds needed in the IT industry
Taking advantage of the possibilities with AR and VR requires more than technological insight. At Virsabi, we prioritize students and even participate in the teaching of students in social sciences.
At Virsabi, we love everything that has to do with education and learning. In order to deliver value to our customers, we need people who are on the forefront of new technology. It is only natural that our CEO sits on a panel of the IT University of Copenhagen’s to help students land their first job, and that several of our employees often give guest lectures at universities and other educational facilities.
Both AR and VR are technologies that help solve the challenges companies face today. Challenges like training of employees, collaboration across distances, and engaging storytelling in connection with sales and marketing.
“The technology solves no problems in itself. First and foremost, you need to define your challenge. Then you need to come up with a creative and holistic solution on how the technology can support the solution to your problem, and then the development and code must be adapted to your solution. In this way, AR and VR do not differ from other IT projects, but our approach is probably a little more creative, ”says Jens Lauritsen, Strategic Advisor at Virsabi.
New boundaries for narratives
Conceiving creative and holistic solutions is one of Virsabi’s strengths, so it was only natural to accept a request to participate in a teaching course entitled Visual Culture under the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Copenhagen.
In addition to Jens Lauritsen, Iris Magdalene Schmidt, Creative Director of Virsabi, participated. As a trained film director, Iris Magdalene Schmidt is a great example of how we bring a wealth of different competencies into play when we solve tasks and projects for our customers.
“When we make film productions for VR and in our Virtual Production Studio, storytelling, instruction and technique must all play together. We break some boundaries of the traditional storytelling model because we can create non-linear narratives in engaging universes, but at the same time the technology sets high demands for the quality of film and sound if users are to have the ultimate experience,” says Iris Magdalene Schmidt.
Concert with 15 million visitors
The students at Visual Culture were given the task of developing an experience that is both commercially viable and exploits the possibilities of virtual reality.
This resulted in several good projects. Among other things, one of the groups produced a video that showed how the concert venue Vega in Copenhagen can open the doors to 15 million concertgoers at the same time, and even give several of the guests a VIP experience with the band on stage.
“The energy from the students was really good. They were fast to see and capture how the medium provides opportunities for new ways of telling stories and conveying messages, and make sure that there is a market for their ideas. This is exactly the type of creativity we value in Virsabi,” says Iris Magdalene Schmidt.
Jens Lauritsen agrees, and he emphasizes that it is the many mixed competencies of the employees that make Virsabi a special place to work.
“Everyone here is a professional nerd, but we are come from very different starting points. Some are hard-core coders, others are experts in 3D modeling at a level that we mortals do not understand, we have a colleague with a PhD in sound, and then we have creative people who always manage to see things from a different angle and just raises the bar on all our productions,” he says.
We work continuously with students
Virsabi works to integrate UN’s Sustainable Development Goals into everyday life, and education is one of the goals the company focuses on. This is also why employees prioritize sharing knowledge.
“We have met a lot of students who have approached us for knowledge and inspiration for their master’s theses, bachelor projects and much more. We help most of them, but unfortunately, we can achieve it all. Of course, it’s not just for the sake of the students, but certainly also for our own, because their questions help us to sharpen our views, and they are a source of inspiration. It is time well spent, and we encourage all companies to do the same – invest the time and invite young people into your reality and let them challenge your way of thinking,” says Michael Harboe, CEO of Virsabi.
